Lab puppy snort when running / snoring

Hello there. My Chocolate Lab pup will be 15 weeks old tomorrow. He appears to be in great health, but I'm concerned about what looks to be nasal inflammation or something. When he runs around with our other Lab, or with the other pups at puppy kindergarten, he makes what sounds like a snorting sound. Almost like his breathing is constricted. The instructor thought he was either vocalizing (he's not) or he has a respiratory issue. He also snores really bad, and again, his breathing sound constricted. We took him to the vet this morning and she said he either has a mild infection (she didn't want to give antibiotic because no fever or other symptoms), or this is just the way he is and will always be like this. Kind of like a "bully type" with a smooched in nose (he's purebred just FYI).

One thing though, he does have "parrot mouth". I looked online and don't see anything associated with parrot mouth and breathing. It seems a little strange this could be something anatomical, so I'm guessing mild infection but was wondering if anyone else has ever experienced this before. We got him when he was 12 weeks old, and he also got a clean bill of health then, but has made these noises from day one. Also, he was the last picked from his litter and he may have been alone for as much as a week. Don't know if he barked his head off and did something to himself, but his bark sounds perfectly normal. Anyway, little man has really stolen our heart and just want to make sure if there is an issue, we get it corrected right away so there are no complications. Thanks!

My guess is that it's the structure of his head causing the breathing noise. I've known people with bulldogs and boston terriers whose dogs were like that.

If it's structure, you will most likely have to be very careful to keep him from overheating either through activity or external temperature...shorter noses don't allow for as much cooling as a longer snout. There might be other concerns, too....I'd read up on bulldog care just to be sure. Things may not affect your dog as much but it's better to be prepared.

I'd think your vet was right (assuming you have faith in her) since she examined him that it was just the way he is.

I'd love to see a picture of him. I'm trying to imagine lab with a bully type face and all I'm coming up with is "cute". What's his name?

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There is probably nothing wrong. Parrot mouth has to do with the teeth, typically an overbite. Shouldn't cause any breathing issues. My girl Grace was a great snorer and snorter! You could hear her. She grunted a lot too. Big panter too. And when she played, she snorted, panted and grunted ALOT. Her 3 boys that I have now are all the same. Some labs have shorter snouts, I wouldn't call it "bully" at all. You'll have to post a picture so we can see if he looks normal or not.

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My boy Asher (14 months) snorts.....especially so when I hug him. When he's playing with Samson, he sounds like a snort machine. Noticed immediately when he was a puppy he was going to be a snorter. He's snores if he is sleeping on his back...which he does quite often. He also breaths through his mouth at times.....his little cheeks puff out and I can hear him. I know his sniffer works because he can find food or anything else on the ground that has a smell and will eat it....I mean anything. Of course I brought all of this up to the vet early on and he said all is well. He even snorts when we play and if I'm not careful, I get a faceful of splatter from his snort.

Maybe you can monitor his temperature for the potential infection and if none presents itself, maybe he's just another lab snorter! :-)

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Thanks for replies all. Guess I shouldn't have said "bully type", but that's kinda what it reminds me of. He's purebred English (show, bench, whatever), but was discount dog because of parrot mouth Good to know this is normal. I have another Lab, and had a Lab mix before and had no idea this was something that could happen with this breed. Meeps83, I think he looks a little like your Lab Here's a couple of pics of the handsome devil:

Cookie has an overbite, but doesn’t snore. Chloe snores, breathes noisily when food is around and has a perfect scissors bite. Without hearing it, it’s hard to be sure if this is what you are referring to, but sort of panting (think Lamaze breathing - he he he) while playing means they are having fun. I read somewhere it’s almost the equivalent of dog laughter.